Husband in the City When She Works

I work in an office with a man. Is it permissible to work with the door closed when my husband is in the city, or should I ensure the door is always open?

If you ensure that conversations are strictly work-related, it is permissible to close the door. However, if there are sometimes conversations not related to work, the door must remain open.

Additionally, if there are other women whose husbands are not in the city, the door should remain open unless the husband and wife are working together in the room and they are Jewish.

Talmud, Tractate Kiddushin, page 81. And these are the words: Rabba said, when her husband is in the city, there is no concern of seclusion. Rav Yosef said, if the door is open to the public domain, there is no concern of seclusion. Rav Bibi visited Rav Yosef's house, after he ate bread, he said to them: remove the ladder from under Bibi. But Rabba said: when her husband is in the city - there is no concern of seclusion! But Rav Bibi was her groomsman and was familiar with her.

Rashi's method is that the permission when her husband is in the city does not permit seclusion, but only that there is no punishment when her husband is in the city. However, Tosafot disagrees and holds that when her husband is in the city, seclusion is permitted unless he is familiar with her. And so ruled the Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer, laws of marriage, chapter 22, paragraph 8, according to Tosafot: "A woman whose husband is in the city, there is no concern of seclusion with her, because the fear of her husband is upon her. But if he is familiar with her, such as she grew up with him or she is his relative, or if her husband was jealous of her with this person, he should not seclude with her even if her husband is in the city."

And although in the Chelkat Mechokek he was stringent when he is familiar with her, even if the door is open to the public domain, many decisors disagree with him, and the law of familiarity with her is mentioned only when her husband is in the city, and so ruled the Taz there.

And the definition of familiarity with her in the workplace, our teacher the Gaon, Rabbi Amram Fried, shlita, instructed that if conversations not related to work are held, there is no permission when her husband is in the city.

And the permission when her husband is in the city regarding other women, the method of the Or Sameach, that it does not save them from seclusion, and these are his words in the laws of forbidden relations, chapter 22: "It also seems that this woman whose husband is in the city, if she was with other women, a man is forbidden to seclude with them, because of what Rabbeinu wrote in law 8: 'A woman should not seclude even with many men until the wife of one of them is there', and why do we need the woman and her husband to be with them, there is a woman whose husband is in the city, and there is no prohibition of seclusion on her, and she will guard them, and therefore, although there is no prohibition of seclusion on her, for her friend it does not save, and her friend is not ashamed of her, and perhaps Rabbeinu was referring to when he is familiar with them, therefore her husband needs to be there."